Charles and Camilla, Mom and George, Older Couples Getting Married
Well, the Pope’s funeral was just another obstacle for poor Prince Charles and his long-time Sweetie Camilla. If any couple gets the perseverance award, it’s got to be those two. Can you imagine going through what they have endured to be together? Yikes.
Yesterday’s New York Times had an article about the nuptials and the growing boom of marriage amongst older folks (Charles is 56 and Camilla 57). Here’s what I have noticed about the weddings of the over 50 crowd that I have attended: The events are happier, more relaxed, and in general, more optimistic and celebratory than those of the under 30’s. Folks are absolutely CHARMED that people with gray hair have found love and each other. It makes them feel more positively about the future, and remember old romances of their own. If they are single themselves, the couples’ story is pure inspiration.
The minister at Mom and George’s wedding echoed these thoughts in the service. She talked about how older couples tend to know what’s really important, and have more life skills to handle what comes at them. She noted that both Mom and George had been married before and widowed. If there is any stronger statement about the quality of the first marriages than a desire to get married again, I don’t know what it would be.
Older couples usually have fewer money problems. Education and career building has already been accomplished, and deciding to have kids is probably not in the equation. Since people who have lived awhile have suffered losses, they tend to value and respect the presence of a partner more.
Good luck to Charles and Camilla. But I think they have been through the worst already.
